ADB, Medanta Sign Debt Financing to Support COVID-19 Response in India
New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a 1 billion Indian rupee, or about $13.7 million, debt financing agreement with India’s Global Health Private Limited (Medanta) to provide essential health care services and medical equipment to help combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The project will support the purchase of personal protective equipment, basic hygiene products, and patient care equipment such as ventilators and beds. It will also support staff training programs on infection prevention and control.
“Private sector health care services play a life-saving role during health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Head of Health and Education Investments at ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Aniruddha Patil. “Medanta’s proven expertise and leadership will further improve the resilience of India’s health system, enabling it to respond effectively to the current crisis and future health care challenges.”
“We are pleased to partner with ADB to meet our financing requirement,” said Global Health Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Naresh Trehan. “The financing will help us focus on increasing health care capacity to satisfy the strong Indian demand for both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related treatment.”
This debt financing is part of a $20 billion assistance package announced by ADB in April 2020 to help its developing members manage the pandemic. The funding complements ADB’s sovereign support to India, including a $1.5 billion loan approved in April 2020 for COVID-19 disease containment and prevention, and social protection for poor and economically vulnerable communities such as women.
Global Health Private Ltd. operates and manages hospitals across India under the Medanta brand with a total operational capacity of about 2000 beds. It has four Medanta “multi-super-specialty” hospitals in Gurgaon, Lucknow, Indore, and Ranchi, with out-patient services in Patna which started in 2020; and three clinics at Delhi Airport, South Delhi, and DLF Cybercity. Its flagship hospital Medanta – The Medicity Gurugram, has over 1,300 beds, including 246 critical care beds.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.